Last year MSNBC found themselves at the negotiating table, hoping to secure a contract extension for Rachel Maddow, whose deal was set to expire in 2022.
However, Maddow inked a new agreement with the cable news channel through the 2024 election and saw her make a reported $30 million yearly.
Furthermore, the deal will see Maddow transition from a nightly host and venture to other projects with NBCUniversal. As a result, the network needs to begin thinking about a successor for Maddow.
The Daily Beast reports that MSNBC was prepared to bring back a familiar face to fill the void. The report states that Keith Olbermann “was in lengthy discussions with NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell and news boss Cesar Conde to return to MSNBC and take over the key 9 p.m. time slot.”
Nonetheless, an Olbermann return to MSNBC was squashed when Maddow stepped in to personally reject him as her successor.
“I offered to have her production company ‘produce’ the show. Would give her some proxy control and a fuckton of money but she and [former MSNBC chief-turned-consultant to Maddow’s production company] Phil Griffin refused,” Olbermann told The Daily Beast’s Source Material.
“I do not expect to continue negotiations with the successors to this management team,” he added. “Management is worse than asleep at the switch.” MSNBC declined to comment in response.
MSNBC declined to comment on the report from The Daily Beast.
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
